Juice Wrld left this world unanticipated on December 8th, 2019 in Chicago after touching down at midway airport. He was only 21 years old and had so much potential for growth and development as a person and in his music. However, I must admit that I was not a listener of Juice Wrld so there will not be much I can expound upon as far as being a fan of his. More so, this blog is being written to talk to my listeners and lovers of hiphop about how we let the fatal end to Juice Wrld become a reality. So before you get defensive and stop reading, give this a chance and hear me out.
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By no means am I blaming fans and listeners for the untimely departure of Juice Wrld or Jarad Anthony Higgins, and from this point on I will refer to him as Jarad. I am however stating that we as fans, listeners, and consumers of hip hop did not help this from being a thing.
A lot of Jarad's music was very emotional and passionate. It displayed an ever growing sensitivity that is needed to show the multiple sides of any person that is searching for answers, growth and happiness. But tied within all of this was a dark side of drug abuse that went unquestioned due to the results the drug dependency gave, which was clear and unrivaled art that only Jarad could produce. And because the art was so great as listeners and consumers we consciously dismissed the troubles Jarad was having with drug use.
And it seems that this is becoming a norm within hip hop culture. Celebrating artists who are offering the world light from the darkest of places. Now don't get me wrong, I am one to understand that most of the greatest art in this world has come from artists who were in dark places and dealt with drug use, but it never made it okay then and it still doesn't now. The truth of the matter is that there has always been an existing problem between caring for the person less than caring for the artists' art, and typically we sacrifice the person for the art.
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I am proposing that there needs to be a change in the dynamics of consumer-artist relationships. If the artists you claim to love mean so much to you due to the way you connect with them through their art medium of choice, you should care more about their well being. You should want that artist to be around for as long as possible, not only to be alive for their family, friends and loved ones, but also to continue to contribute to this world the very thing you fell in love with them over.
Now clearly no one has control over any individual and you can't make anyone do anything thing they don't want to do, and all through this world you have love ones who fight drug addiction with people in their corners trying their best to help them beat it, but at a time where Jarad needed the very world he gave light to, to shine that back on him in his dark world, we failed. But this is not to suggest that he did not have people in his corner at all but he needed a larger than life team. He needed fans to tell him that it was more important for him to get better than it was for them to receive another single, project, or tour. And that is the role I feel those who are consumers of hip hop culture can get better at. Making more of an effort to value the person more than the art.
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Ultimately I know this will be a foregoing issue if consumers don't make a conscious effort to make a demand that labels, promoters, and other consumers stop pressuring artists to continue to work when their well being is not at its best state. Clearly this causes for a change in culture that has permeated for the last 7-8 years where rappers are coming into the game glorifying the use and abuse of drugs due to the things they are going through, but it must be done. In totality I leave all things in the hands of the people because as an artist once you get big enough where people consider you famous, you belong to them.
RIP
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